Temple of Masters
by Greca-Roma21
Summary: It's been 7 months since the Crew of the Argo has seen Alana Martins. Out of the blue, an Iris message appears, beckoning them to Mt. Olympus, using the voice of their missing friend. 'Come on guys, I know you're ready for another adventure.' Book 2 of The Biography of a Greco-Roman. Crossover with TNT's The Librarians.
1. Here We Go Again

A/N: Sorry this is a little late, I wanted to make sure I'd ironed out all the details before starting on this new journey. Updates should be once a month. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Here We Go Again…

When I stepped through the portal to Olympus, I never imagined what would happen to us. To all of us. I was so excited to finally start my own quest, that I didn't think of the consequences. It wouldn't be the last time that my overzeal would land us in trouble. You'd think I'd learn. There's no use lamenting over past decisions now, though.

After I left, I spent days in Olypums's library. Time seemed to pass strangely, that's why it took so long for me to reach out to you. I practically devoured everything they had on the Greco-Roman, the prophecy, everything that might pertain to my quest (how silly that word, **my**. It was never just mine, but of course, I didn't know that then). That was when I found the scroll. It was written in the same chicken scratch language I wrote my prophecies in, so I knew that it had to connect somewhere. I spent weeks or maybe months deciphering it, but I only managed a few words. _Master's Guild. First Circle. The Library. Judson._ This would be the next stage of my quest, but I knew that I needed help. I sent you that Iris message and waited.

The antechamber I'd been given for this meeting was bare, just a few wall hangings depicting the glories of the gods, no doubt Athena's handiwork. I'd begged and borrowed enough chairs for everyone and a circular table, that was important. Otherwise we might have a repeat of the stand off of the Argo II. Unless Percy and Jason had resolved that 'who is the leader?' question already. _Gods, I just don't know.__** We've been gone for a while.**__** Things were bound to change.**_

I sank into one of the chairs then stood right back up, wringing my hands like crazy. I knew the crew had gotten my message, but were they coming? I'd left so quickly, I hadn't said a word. Were they angry with me, upset? The door was opening behind me, I didn't have anymore time to think.

"Alana!" Piper rushed in, tackling me in one of her giant hugs. _**I guess that answer's that question.**_

"Where have you been? Why did you leave? Are you okay?" Questions, lovely caring questions, from every direction.

"I'll tell you. I swear. Have I got a story to tell you." I usher everyone towards the chairs, the table.

"Trying to turn us into the Knights of the Round Table?" Leo jokes, but takes his seat. Everyone settles into a spot that seems predetermined. There are no squabbles over position, no fights over who is sitting next to who.

"I need your help with a quest." Pulling my journal charm from my bracelet, I thumb through the pages to find the correct passage. "Before I left Camp I got a prophecy from Rachel. Ah, here it is."

_Circles bound, circles broken_

_Words you write are yet unspoken_

_The second is whole, the first now waits_

_To decode the words of fate_

_Come to Olympus, head now this call_

_Find what you need, before the fall_

I read aloud then reach into the satchel bag on the floor by my chair and spread the scroll out across the table. It's long enough that Nico can help me hold it flat from across the table. "This is what I found."

Anabeth stands and leans in, looking over the scribbles, "I've never seen this language before. What is it?

"Common Language. The language of the Gods, before Greece or Rome." I turn to a random page in my journal and slide it across. The same language is scrawled across almost every page. "I can translate a few words, but most of this is lost on me."

"So we need an expert in gibberish?" Another joke from Leo and ripples of laughter. How long has it been since I was able to laugh?

"Exactly. And according to the other records I found, there's only one possibility." Everyone straightens up, leans in. "It's called the Library. It's a repository for magical items that are too dangerous for mortals. There's a man there known as Judson, he's in charge of it. His name also appears on the scroll."

"So you need to go there." Reyna speaks up, toying with the edge of her purple cloak. "But why did you need us?"

"Because of this." I pull the journal back to me, flip to the newest entry. A drawing, better than I could have normally rendered, of the ten of us. We are standing together, determined and yet glad, in front of two symbols, a tree and an open book. Symbols of the Library.

"Alana's prophecies haven't steered us wrong yet." Jason says. "I guess we're going to this Library. Any idea where it is?"

"Not exactly." I reach for my journal again, flipping to the section of notes I wrote. "It moves from century to century, like the Gods do. I've heard rumors that it might be in New York, but who knows. It has a specific magic signature that we might be able to track."

"And what do we do once we get there? Will they just let us in?" Frank looks quizzical. "If they're supposed to protect magic from people who aren't supposed to have it, they may not be very welcoming."

"Technically, we count as magic beings, so they might be able to help us." Other theories start to circle the table, around and around and around and around and around. _**Dizzy… **__**Oh my head…**_

_I'm in a great entry hall, flanked by stone sleeping lions that yawn and stretch as I dart past. "Maera! No running inside!" A voice behind me, gentle and loving, accompanied by a set of arms that wrap around my waist and lift me up, "Got you, little one!" _

"_Uncle! No! Wanna see Judson!" I squirm, kicking at the skirt of my dress. I look behind me, see the smile of the man I love as much as a 6 year old can._

"_Judson is busy and you have lessons, dear one." He sets me down and takes my hand, leading me back past the lions, just now falling asleep again, and back into a small laboratory. I take my seat at a low desk, while my Uncle sets up another one of his experiments. _

_I practice my letters for a while, then start to cough. It's a horrible wet cough that I know too well. My parents sounded like that before they died. "Uncle Jenkins? Can I have some water?"_

"_Of course, Maera."_

_Whatever comes next is blurred, the floor sinking and spinning as I fall. Uncle Jenson's worried voice fades away, and all I am left with is pain._

I jolt up from the floor, almost knocking heads with Leo, who was leaning over me. "Woah, easy there 'Lana. You passed out."

"I'm okay… I must have forgotten to eat today." _**But that dream… **__**It wasn't a prophecy.**__** And it wasn't our memory.**__ Hush. We'll figure it out later._ Piper summons food from her cornucopia and everyone settles down to eat. We decide that we'll try a magic tracking spell in the morning, and deal with Judson when we get there. For now, we're all going back to Camp Half-Blood.

I spend a few minutes explaining things to my siblings, saying hello to friends. _**They did well, getting everyone back together like this. **__**Hopefully it will stay this peaceful while we're gone.**_

That night at campfire, I get roped into leading the sing-along. I start singing an old favorite song, only to find that no one joins me. "_What's wrong guys? Don't feel like singing 'Nana goes off to War'? What about 'This is Mino's Land'?_"

"Miss Martins, a moment." Chiron calls me over to his spot on the far side of the ring of seats. "Are you aware you are speaking in gibberish?"

"No, I wasn't." I would have known if I'd spoken another language, right? 

"I assure you that you did." Chiron allows me to continue with the sing-along, but I do so with worry beating at the back of my brain. I do slip into gibberish once or twice more, but I never notice it. Someone always has to break me out of the pattern before I can speak normally again.

Despite the odd language slip, it's the most fun I've had in weeks. Whatever happens with this quest, I'm coming back to Camp afterwards. I don't want to be on my own again. Maybe I'll even visit New Rome. This is home, not this place, but this feeling, these people. It took seven months of silence and solitude to figure that out. And now I have to leave again.

We equip ourselves with the standard quest backpacks and gather in the rec room of the Big House to cast the spell. It's simple enough, a chant while holding a pendulum over a map. Wherever it drops, there's our Library. Easy. (Of course now we know that the Library let us find it. If it hadn't, there's no way that particular spell would have worked.)

The crystal end of the pendulum dropped at a bridge in Oregon, and after a quick stop to get rain gear, we join hands and Nico takes us into the shadows.

The knock came as quite a surprise for the Librarians in the annex that day. Prospero was defeated, Flynn and Eve had been restored to them and all was well. Still the knock came, loud and sharp, echoing down the cement hall. All eyes immediately turned to Ezekiel Jones, who was in the habit of ordering pizza and having it delivered to what was supposed to be their secret base.

"I swear, it wasn't me!" He exclaimed.

Colonel Baird and Jenkins shared a look. Knocks on the Library door were never good. Both exited the annex and walked the gloomy hall to the steel door. Beyond it, they could hear a bubbling conversation, many young voices, indecipherable languages mixing into a cacophony of sound. Jenkins opens the door and calmly takes in the sight. Ten teens, five girls and five boys, dressed in raincoats and heavy boots, backpacks slung over shoulders, stare back at him.

"Can I help you?" He intones with his stuffy British accent.

A red-headed girl with bright blue eyes, standing in the middle of the diverse group like she was holding it together, spoke up. Her voice was lyrical, an ancient, but familiar, accent flowing through her words. "Maybe. This wouldn't happen to be The Library, would it?"

Shock was the first emotion to hit. _They know of the Library? How? What do they want here?_ Jenkins responds coolly, hiding everything behind his uncaring facade. "If you mean the local Public Library, then no." As he moves to close the door, one of the boys, lanky with slight features and pointed ears, leaps forward, catching the edge. He grins sheepishly, but refuses to release his grip on the door.

"No. Not a library. THE Library." Another girl speaks, narrowing eyes as grey as the sky above at Jenkins.

"At least tell us if Judson is in there. It's important we speak to him." Jenkins freezes. _Judson?_

The first girl speaks again. "I understand if you can't let us in, I wouldn't in your place, but could you at least tell Judson this?" Her eyes took on a sheen of grey. "The 2nd Circle of the Guild is whole and aware once more. The Greco-Roman and The Nine are ready to fix what has been broken." A look of confusion crosses her face, and the faces behind her, but she continues regardless. " Tell him that, please. He'll know what to do."

"How do you know Judson?" Flynn Carson, the Head Librarian and frequent eavesdropper, pops out of seemingly nowhere, giving all except Jenkins a minor heart attack. Close behind him are the new Librarians, all with curious looks on their faces.

"Maybe we should come in before answering that. This storm is about to get a lot worse." A blond boy with eyes of electric blue states, just as thunder rumbles in the distance. All ten of the travellers glance up towards the sky, sharing a look more often given to those who made inappropriate comments.

Jenkins, instead of opening the door for them, stood stock still, more shocked than the Librarians had ever seen him. Eve and the others gently prompted him, but he never looked away from the redheaded girl.

"Maera." The name leaped in his mind, under the weight of a million memories and thoughts. "Little Maera."

"How do you know that name?" The redhead looked just as confused, so did her companions.

"What's he talking about Alana?" One of the boys asks her, one with dark hair and eyes, putting a hand on her shoulder as if to steady her.

Maera melted away, and left this new girl in her place. But Jenkins could still see the spitfire he had helped raise, the girl who had called him…

"Uncle? Can we come in?"

I lead my group into the concrete hallway, very aware of all the stares fixed on me. The Librarians' stares, and the stares from the older man who opened the door -_I know him. I know him, I know him, I know him… How?_\- I expected, but the stares from my Nine are not. Then again, I certainly did not expect to say what I did either. One more mystery to unravel.

The Librarians take us to a lovely room, with stained glass doors and a sweeping staircase. Percy, noticing the damp that we were trailing in, squints. The dripping rainwater halts, then floats towards the ceiling in an ever larger bubble. He directs it with a nod of his head, towards a few potted plants near the stairs. "I figured you wouldn't want your books wet," he says, countering the looks of shock and disbelief.

"You can do magic?" One of the Librarians says, a woman with red hair. "What about the rules?" She looks expectantly towards the others in her group.

"Safe to say, they operate by different rules." The older man says. "I do believe we have something on the 'Greco-Roman', if I could only remember where."

"Or we could tell you." Piper says, having already hopped up onto the long table in the center of the room. She's practically a cat. "Of course that would require you to trust that we were telling you the truth, which if you don't is completely fine."

"_Piper, get off the table. This is their home_." I say, once again not noticing my slip into that unknown language. Several voices simply call 'English' and wait for me to repeat myself. "Sorry. Get off the table, Piper." She shrugs and slips back onto her feet.

"What was …. No, off track," The blonde woman shakes her head and directs us back towards the first topic. "Tell us who you are, and then we'll see about trust."

"I'm Alana Martins, and these are my friends." I gesture behind me and let them call their names out. Once they've finished, I continue. "We're demigods, children of humans and gods. In our case, the Greek and Roman gods."

The man I recognized, the one I called Uncle, snaps his fingers and steps away, towards a card catalog and begins pulling out drawers. "That's what it was!" He finally selects a card from the drawers and flicks it towards us. A shelf of books pops into existence a few feet from Frank and Hazel, who both jump away with their hands on weapons.

"Easy guys." Reyna pulls the two away from the shelf, then glares at the man. "A warning would have been appropriate, sir. Unless you want to turn into a shish kabob."

The group of Librarians burst into laughter. "You shish kabobing Jenkins! Ha!" The man with wild brown hair bends over, dramatizing his reaction, until the blonde elbows him. "Flynn, that's enough."

The older man, Jenkins, looks up from the book. "Actually sir, they might be the only ones I would lose a fight too." Their entire group goes still.

Annabeth nudges Piper, who smiles. "Maybe we should continue the introductions first? We don't even know your names."

That is just what they needed, a dose of normal. Each Librarian introduces themselves. Flynn Carson, the one with wild brown hair, has been a Librarian for more than ten years. The other three-Cassandra Cillian, Ezekial Jones, and Jacob Stone-have only had the job for a year or so, but already seem very knowledgeable. Eve Baird, the blonde, is the group's Guardian. And finally Jenkins, the Caretaker, who is an immortal from the time of King Arthur. He doesn't mention how we knew each other, instead handing the book over to Flynn, who skims a passage and then looks up bright-eyed. "Judson used to talk about this. How there were warriors and heroes from all over the globe, all doing their part to protect humanity from magic."

"Less from magic, more from monsters and power-mad titans who want to take over the world." I respond. "We have a riddle for you. A scroll I found while looking for a way to defeat one of our enemies. It's in a language none of us can read."

Flynn perks up even more at the mention if a riddle, hands practically shaking in anticipation. "Can we see it?"

I take off my bag and dig through it, removing the scroll from the plastic we'd wrapped it in. The Librarians are quick to clear their long table of books and odd items so I can spread it out. Flynn scans the writing with a magnifying glass, occasionally muttering to himself or consulting with Jacob about what the language could be. Eve shakes her head at the two and tells us it might be a while.

"We could give them a tour!" Cassandra bounces up from her seat.

"I think it would be better if they tell us the rest of their story, Miss Cillian." Jenkins gives the redhead a soft smile and my breath catches. _That's the smile from the dream.__** It has to have been real. **__**We know him, somehow.**_

The others notice I'm caught up in my thoughts, so Annabeth starts talking. Normally mortals receiving information about myths and gods being real either faint or call the police. The Librarians do neither. Cassandra took notes. Occasionally one of the Romans would make an addition, but Annabeth was on a roll. Not wanting to interrupt, I sit down next to my bag and looked around. I may not have Annabeth's architectural eye, but I am a daughter of Apollo and we know how to appreciate art in all forms.

This place is beautiful, the stained glass on the windows and doors, the marble pattern on the floor. I tip my head back to look at the paintings on the ceiling. Cherubs and angels with swords fighting the forces of evil, pretty standard for a mural in a home of warriors for good. But there's something familiar, like when I saw Jenkins at the door, when I called him Uncle. That dream… it's there, I know it. But the view isn't quite right.

I get up and move, glancing up occasionally to check before sitting down again. No… the view was lower. I stretch out on my back. This is it. This was the view from… from…

_Judson and Charlene set up a pallet in the Annex so they could watch me after I fainted in uncle Jenkins's lab. My cough got worse. They give me medicine, hold my hand, tell me stories. Butmy fever is rising and my breath is catching and_

_I am a little older now, hiding in a field with my mother as redcoats sack our town. "Keep your head down, Diana." But she's standing up, she's walking back into town. She's getting shot and the redcoats are pointing their guns towards my hiding spot and_

_I'm a young southern belle, standing in front of plantation house. There is a man in a blue uniform next to me. The War is over, but my father still has a pistol pointed at him, at us. The man in blue doesn't seem to notice, his eyes locked on me, "It's alright Catherine. I love you." My heart is in my throat. His heart is leaking out all over his uniform. The pistol is turned on me and my father's face is turning away and_

_I dressed in jeans and a tie-dye shirt. I am in a park with friends, playing a guitar. "Sing us a song, Angela!" Then I am marching down a street with the same friends, holding signs. There are police in front of us in riot gear. Someone shoots and then they all shoot and I am stained in red and_

_I am dying, dying, dying. _

There's a bitter taste in my mouth. It makes me gag. There are arms around my shoulders, someone else is holding my hair back. I have to breathe, in the nose, out the mouth, breathe.

"Alana, honey. Talk to us." Hazel is there, holding my hand. The rest of my Nine are around me and I lean on them. I'm so tired. Jenkins is holding a china teacup, watching me carefully. The other Librarians are with him at a lab table. For the first time I notice we're no longer in the lovely room we started in.

"What happened?" That's all I can ask.

"You fainted or something in the other room" Cassandra brings over a glass of water, which I gulp down quickly.

"Your eyes went grey." Piper says from behind me. That means I was using my Oracle abilities, but it wasn't the future I saw. I pass the water glass back to Cassandra before my shaking hands drop it.

Jason is explaining Piper's comment to the Librarians, the rest are waiting for me to tell them what I saw. I know I can tell them, but I'm not sure if I should. The visions seemed so personal. But if I want answers, I need to talk about the first one at the very least.

"I saw him." I say, looking right at Jenkins. "I was… six, maybe seven. I lived here. But I got sick. I think I died."

"You saw the past." Jenkins says, setting the tea cup down and moving a little further away. Even the Librarians seem shocked. "The Library has… a consciousness, would be the best way to put it, and it occasionally speaks to those of us connected to it. In the Middle Ages it told us to take in an orphan child. Maera. Even Judson and Charlene didn't know exactly why, the Library only told us that she had a destiny to fulfill when she grew up. We were to care for her, educate her, until it was time for her to face that destiny."

"I didn't make it that long." I had claimed the life of this Maera. I had no proof to connect us, but somehow I knew that she was me. I was her.

"No. She became ill. We tried everything we could, but she died." Jenkins looks at me, through me more like. "You look exactly like her, like she would have looked if she had lived."

"This is sounding more and more like reincarnation." Flynn said. "Is that possible?"

"Yes. There are magical beings with that ability, but no one's been able to prove it happens to human beings after death. That's one mystery that even the Library can't solve." Jenkins seemed to need the distraction from me, and Flynn knew it. This group is as tightly knit as my Nine and they looked out for each other in the same way. Wait… the Nine and the Greco-Roman…

"I need my journal. Please." I sit up fully, fighting a spell of dizziness. Hazel darts out of the laboratory and comes back with my bag. It's still partially open from earlier, the journal is right there on top. Annabeth offers me a pen, but I brushed her hand away. "I wrote something a long time ago… I think it might help."

The words on the page rearrange just as they always do when I need them to. Just as I thought. "_The Greco-Roman and the Nine will always find each other, no matter what life they live. As the wheel turns and the Greco-Roman is brought forth again and again, so do the Nine._"

My Nine turn to each other to discuss the passage, but Flynn is more interested in my journal. "That writing is the same as the stuff on the scroll. I thought you said you can't read it."

"I can't." Oh boy, this is going to take some explaining… "It's part of the Oracle powers Jason explained earlier. I write things in the journal and they decode themselves when we need them. I tried to use the journal to decode the scroll, but I couldn't get much out of it."

"Regardless, Stone and I think we can translate your scroll. Should take about two or three days." Flynn shares a look with Stone who confirms his estimate.

"Two or three days?" We hadn't planned on staying. Even more important, demigods don't do well sitting still. We can go stir crazy pretty quickly. I look over my shoulder at my Nine. Should we stay? Go back to camp? Every set of eyes I look into is sure and steady. They want to stay. The scroll is too important to leave with people we just met.

"Of course you can stay!" Bubbly Cassandra speaks for her friends, who don't seem too surprised. "We'll clear out the guest rooms!" She helps me up from the cot and takes us back. As we walk, there's a look passing from Librarian to Librarian and demigod to demigod: 'Here we go again…'


	2. Days in the Library

A/N: I was kinda busy last week, so I pushed back the publish date a little. I hope it was worth the wait. This chapter is a little shorter, a lot of exposition, but things should be picking up next month.

Chapter 2: Days in the Library

Beyond the cement entry is the grand ever expanding Library. It has all the majesty of Olympus, if Olympus was ruled by Athena instead of Zues. Walls of bookshelves, display cases with magical artifacts, the roaring white marble lions I'd seen in my dreams, all done in a scheme of dark wood, cream, red, gold. Cassandra leads us to one of the walls, full of doors and scrutinizes them for a moment, before pulling open a white oak door. "The residential wing!" She announces.

It's a rather simple set up, a long carpeted hall with evenly spaced plain wood doors, not unlike the second deck of the Argo II. Cassandra explains that the rooms will change themselves to suit our needs and tries to assign us each our own room. Some form of demigod paranoia kicks in and we tell her we want only two rooms, one for the girls, one for the boys. She nods and opens two doors, ushering us in.

The room the other girls and I enter has the same carpet as the hall but is otherwise empty. As we watch, a kitchen materializes in one corner and furniture fills the rest of the room, beds, dressers, a table and chairs. We ooh and aah, behind us similar noises come from the boys' room. Each of us claims a bed and a dresser, dumping our bags and shucking off our coats. Piper checks the kitchen and finds it is fully stocked with our favorite snacks. She tosses a few packages of chips and dried fruit at us which we catch easily.

"We need to figure out how we're going to pass the time here," Annabeth says, still chewing. "I don't think the Librarians would appreciate us running wild."

"We could always train." Reyna offers. "There are some Roman drills that would tire even Leo out pretty quickly."

Hazel and I both groan. The drills Reyna mentioned are insane, running five miles in 30 pounds of gear, swimming while carrying stones, blindfolded combat… Romans don't mess around when it comes to training. Between the two of us, we manage to talk her out of the worse ones before Cassandra comes back and tells us all that dinner will be ready in a few hours.

Over the next few days, we leave Flynn and Jake to their work and try to burn off some energy. The Library contains dozens of doors that lead to strange places. A fog covered lake, an office with inverted gravity, but the one we find most use for is a giant green field. It's here that we do our drills and laps, sparing each other with blades and powers. Occasionally Jenkins will come and watch us, but never speaks. We take our meals in a large communal kitchen.

Occasionally I am called to the Annex, the beautiful room we started in, where Flynn and Jake have set up several blackboards and slowly covered them in chalk scribbles. The scroll is spread out and weighed down on the long conference table, surrounded by other books and tools left behind from the Librarians's previous adventures. Somehow, in the midst of all of the chaos, they manage to teach me some of the chicken scratch language that the scroll and my prophecy journal are written in.

The scroll contains a long section of prose that describes a Guild of Masters, an agreement between warriors of different traditions and different walks of life, that protected the world from dangers. The 'circles' I had managed to decipher from the scroll and remembered from the prophecy Rachel gave me so long ago, is what the Guild called the different groups of warriors. From there we move onto the ten or so smaller sections of text below the prose. As we translate them, I can feel a kind of power thrumming off the words, prophetic power. The rhythm of the prophecies are disrupted, disjointed, possibly from the translation, but I start to piece them together. It's a process that takes most of my time, and I rarely see the rest of my Nine save for meals and training.

When we are together, they talk my ear off about their time exploring the Library with Eve, Cassandra, or Ezekial, who each have their own view on their home. Cassandra is overflowing with enthusiasm, talking about science and magic and the good they can do when used in tandem. She and Annabeth have long conversations that go over the heads of everyone else. Ezekial talks about his life as a thief and the challenge magic presents. Eve tells stories about the battles waged over the artifacts and how much she admires each of her charges.

On our second day, my Nine try to stick through the translation process with me, sitting in chairs or on the steps, hanging over the loft above us. A few try to help by passing books and fetching snacks, but mostly all they can watch (which I should have realized would have been bad, but hyperfixation is a terrible curse).

I'm translating one of the prophecy sections when the ringing of metal meets my ears. My head snaps up, scanning the room for threats. Fighting their way down the staircase is Percy and Jason, slashing with their swords and shouting back and forth in what seems to be jovial Greek. I stare at them in horror as a second meeting of blades shrieks through the air, making Jake and Flynn look up as well.

"What's going on?" Jake asks in his Texan drawl, while Flynn gives a whistle. An ancient looking knight's sword zooms into the room, floating over the ground, and into Flynn's hand.

I fix my glare on Percy and Jason who turn and freeze, looking over at me then back to each other, before scrambling back up the stairs in full panic mode. I take the stairs two at a time, gold filaments floating in the air around me. With a thought, two lengths of shimmering gold rope snake around Percy and Jason's ankles, pulling taut and sending them crashing to the floor. Their swords slide to rest next to one of the bookcases on the second floor of the Annex, out of reach. I walk over the two collapsed demigods and look down, "What were you doing?"

"Just a little sparring." Jason sits up but knows better than to move for his sword.

I roll my eyes, "I thought we all agreed that sparring would be limited to the field room?"

"We just got a little twitchy." Percy tries to rationalize.

"Well twitchy just got you five laps of the field." A pair of groans. "Now it's ten. Get going." I let both pass me to get their swords, but watch them carefully as they go down the stairs and out of the Annex.

Eve passes them as they leave, and looks at Flynn questioningly, "I saw Cal head this way. All good?" Flynn assures her with a kiss on the cheek while I descend the stairs.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Jenkins, lurking at the doorway. He hasn't spoken to me since revealing he knew and cared for one of my past lives, a concept I'm still trying to wrap my head around. Something in me wants to run into his arms and have him take all my uncertainty away, but the rational side knows he is just as lost as I am. We both need space. "Shall we get back to work?"

Two more days pass without too many hiccups, and we finish translating the scroll. Everyone gathers in the Annex to finally hear the full message. Flynn reads the prose section aloud with child-like excitement, constantly peeking back at his audience for our reactions before continuing on.

"_Written here is the tale that will be omitted from our shared history. This conflict has ripped into the very fabric of our societies, shaken our peoples to their cores. It is better for them to forget, and to be kept blind to what truly exists in this world._

_Fifteen years ago, a force arose that devoured the land and any that stood against it. It spread across the earth like a black stain, growing in power and size, seemingly unstoppable. It drew the attention of heroes and magic workers the world over, who charged into battle against it time and time again to protect their homes. Eventually these heroes learned of each other and decided to fight the evil together. After a long and hard fight, they succeeded in sealing the evil back into its cage. Peace reigned. _

_The heroes scattered for a time to rebuild what was lost, but each group came to the same realization: There may be other forces in the world that would require the strength of more than one culture to defeat. The alliance they had formed out of desperation could grow into something much greater. And so the Master's Guild of Heroes was formed. Nine cultures joined the Guild, each bringing it's strengths, it's own magics to the table: The Library, The Demigods of Greece and Rome, The Magicians of Egypt, The Einherjar of Scandinavia, The Pandavas of India, The Mayan Godborn, The Anansesem of West Africa, The Shadowhunters, and The Knights of the Templar. Each comprised one circle of the Guild, self contained, but intertwined with others for the good of the world we all shared. _

_It was our hope that as more groups of Heroes rose up around the world, they would also be brought into the fold of the Guild, but that will not happen now._

_From one of our circles, we learned the identity of our first enemy and of the possibility of his reemergence, eons from now. This would be part of our mission, to watch for him, prevent his rise if possible, and defeat him again if not. _

_After the reconstruction was finished, other problems began to arise. There were those in the world who had seen the wonders and horrors magic could do, and swore to possess it, eliminate it, or both. At the same time, all of the terrors that existed in every story ever told began to stalk the innocent. It was chaos. The Guild could not fight both battles. It was determined that the existence of magic was too great a temptation for those who could not understand it, and it was locked away within the Library. The Circles of the Guild took vows of secrecy and silence; to protect the world, we had to hide from it. All lines of communication would be severed, so that if one Circle was discovered, the rest would not be threatened._

_But our first purpose will always be the most important. To this end, we leave this record. Should our enemy rise while we are seperate, follow the clues, find the keys, and bring us back together. Find us and save our world from a fate worse than death."_

"There are others." I'm first to speak after Flynn stops, breaking a solid minute of silence.

Jenkins sniffs dryly from the corner, "Of course there are others. The world is a big place. It takes more than one Library and a handful of demigods to keep it safe."

"We've spent years thinking we were alone, that we were the only ones who cared about the magic," Percy says. "We're not alone anymore… It's a relief." A few others murmur soft affirmations and nod. An ever-present weight was just lifted from our shoulders.

"They mentioned clues." Frank prompts, looking at Flynn expectantly.

I stand instead. "They're prophecies. My guess is we wouldn't have been able to read them if it wasn't time." As I cross behind Flynn to one of the many chalkboards we used during our translation project, my Nine and the other Librarians ask a dozen questions each. Flynn deflects them all as I turn the chalkboard over to reveal the eleven passages written on the other side. Another moment of long drawn out silence settles over the room.

"It's us." Jason says. He sees what I saw, the mentions to our godly parents and the events in our lives.

I nod. "This is our next step. The keys Flynn read about? We're supposed to find them."

"And then we find whatever the Guild left behind… Do you think they fight You-Know-What?" Annabeth says, wisely avoiding the name of the entity.

I nod. "I think we'll need all of the Circles to defeat him again."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Leo says, nearly falling off his stool, while trying to embrace Jason and Piper. "Let's get started."

I chuckle. "Alright then. I guess we start with this." I gesture to the first passage and read aloud:

"_Temple of Masters hidden from view_

_Entry is granted to only a few_

_The Ten will rise with the coming dark_

_On a grand adventure they will embark_

_To find the rings, scared birthright all_

_Open the door and send out the call"_


	3. The Eagle and the Fountain

A/N: As promised, a more action packed chapter! And early, if you can believe it.

Chapter 3: The Eagle and The Fountain

I beckon my Nine forwards, point out which passages are theirs and let them read. Each one mentions different people and places, scattered across the globe. As we start to assemble a list of locations, Flynn writes them down, making a face. "I don't think you guys can get to all these places. Not quickly at least." He looks towards Jenkins and the other Librarians, who smile back. "But I think we can give you guys a lift."

We look quizzically at them. Flynn smirks and crosses to another door in the Annex, one that hasn't been opened since we've arrived. Sitting next to is an old globe on a dark wood stand, and a pile of different colored wires and spinning gizmos. I'd seen Leo poking around it on occasion, but he always seemed a little confused as to its purpose. Flynn spins the globe and the door shudders and glows. He looks back at us with a wink before pulling open the frosted glass french doors.

Beyond the Annex is an alley, nothing too special save for the skyline rising in the distance. "New York?" Annabeth questions, stepping up to the doorway.

"We call it The Backdoor. Instant travel, anywhere in the world." The doors close, the glow subsides, and Flynn smiles goofily at us. "We could lend it to you."

"I think that would be to our advantage," Reyna says. "We shouldn't waste time on tracking down these keys. Most of our attention should be on whatever the Masters left us to fight You-Know-What."

After hearing each of the Nine agree, I turn to the Librarians. "We accept. And thank you."

"Well kiddos, where to first?" Jake stands at the globe, ready to set it to a destination.

"The prophecies were in a certain order, we may have to follow it." I flip the chalkboard again and reread the sections. "Jason, yours is first."

Without turning around, I know Jason has stepped up behind me to read the prophecy. It's no surprise when his voice comes from over my shoulder.

"To find the bolt, weapon of the king  
You must first seek the eternal spring  
In the new world the prince must fly  
Else lightning's legacy is sure to die  
Take the key from the water

For a soul given to barter"

"Well that could be a lot of things." Leo rolls his eyes. "I hate vague prophecies."

"Then you must hate all prophecies, because they're all vague." I snipe back at him. I step to the side and let Jason stand in front of the board alone. "This is your prophecy. What is it saying?" A few of the others snicker and I wave them into silence. "Block them out. Just think."

"New World, that's the Americas." Jason adjusts his glasses, turning suddenly to the Librarians. "What do you know about the Fountain of Youth?"

There's a scramble to locate the right books, but in a moment, the Librarians have gathered everything they have on the Fountain. Flynn lectures about the lore, Jake chimes in with the different explorers and expeditions that searched for it, a maelstrom of information. Jason absorbs it better than any of the other demigods, eventually stopping Jake mid sentence. "Say that again."

"Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer who wanted to find the Fountain to regain his youth. He shipwrecked off the coast of Florida in 1513." Jake repeats.

"He was a Descendant of Zues. The Fountain was his quest. If he found it, he would have been made a full demigod." Jason turns back to the group. "Lightning's legacy is sure to die. He's guarding the Fountain and the key, but he doesn't have long."

Jake and Flynn start consulting maps and discussing the best place to put the door, while Jason is faced with the most important question: who to take with him. We stand across from Jason, spread out a bit, like children waiting to be picked for teams during gym. Jason pushes his glasses up to his forehead to rub his eyes. "I don't know…"

"Trust your intuition. This prophecy is about you. We won't hold it against you." I say, completely ignoring the half-hearted noises from Leo and Piper.

Jason keeps his eyes closed, and blurts out: "Percy and Piper." Choice made, he looks up at us. "I just… I think I need them." He offers a half smile to Leo, a silent apology.

Annabeth steps up and gets the more logistical things in order: supplies, money, travel documents. Meanwhile, the questing trio settle in for a briefing on the myths behind the Fountain of Youth with Jake and Flynn sets the Back Door.

Briefing finished, Flynn gathers the trio near the door. "Okay, this," Flynn passes a small black phone to Jason. "This is a standard issue Library Adventure Phone. Service anywhere, water-proof, drop-proof, shock-proof, etcetera. It's been programmed with the Annex's number and the 'Library Hotline' which is basically just Jenkins. Any questions?"

Percy raises a tentative hand. "But is it demigod proof?"

Cassandra pips up form behind the long table, "Annabeth mentioned that already. I spent most of yesterday creating a chip that blocks outgoing magical signatures."

Jason takes the phone and tucks in into his pocket cautiously, like he's been handed a live grenade. He still manages a smile during our goodbyes. There are a few good natured ribs ("Don't get knocked out", "Try not to die", "No detours to Ogygia"), and hugs all around. Flynn opens the Back Door and the trio sprint through.

"Well now what are we going to do?"

Jason

The Back Door spits us out on a road in Florida. All three of us gag as the heat and humidity hits, and have to take a second to get our bearings after running though the Librarian's magic portal. I shake myself slightly and take in our surroundings. The plan was to contact an old legionnaire and borrow his boat. The marina should be just down the road, if the Door is to be trusted.

The walk to the marina is hot and we are dripping sweat by the time we reach it. Waiting for us at the guardhouse is a greasy looking man, Juan, in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He speaks quickly with the guard and lets us in. At his slip sits a very sad fishing boat.

"Well at least it's not the _Pax_." Percy says looking the ship over.

"This is the _Santa Maria_. I've already stocked the cabin for ya'. Here are the keys." Juan moves to give them to me, but pulls his hand back last minute. "Take good care of my baby. Not a single scratch? Got that?"

I assure Juan that nothing will happen and the three of us board the ship. Piper ducks below to check our supplies, while Percy starts the engine and I unmoor us from the dock.

"Did that guy give you the creeps, or what?" Percy says when we're out of earshot.

"Kind of. But he can't be that bad. He was a legionnaire." I respond.

"So was Octavian."

Piper comes back on deck, looking a little green. "I wouldn't spend too much time down there. It smells like 200 year old fish." She makes a face.

"It can't be that bad." Percy says. He sticks his head inside the cabin for a moment and then reels back gagging. "Ok, yea. It's bad. I am sleeping on the deck." Piper and I quickly agree.

Percy takes full control of the ship once we're out of sight of the marina and other boats. The blue waters go by quickly and the smell of salt water cuts the smell of fish enough to make it bearable. He warns us that we are very near the Sea of Monsters. "We could get some increased monster activity."

"I think I'll take the first watch." I say.

"Are you watching for monsters or avoiding the toxic smell of the cabin?" Percy teases.

The next two days at sea pass without much incident. We call the Library a few times, to get headings and to check in. Each time there is a pit of dread in my stomach when handling a phone, but we don't seem to attract any monsters. Cassandra's chip will be in very high demand if the rest of the demigods ever find out.

The island is within our sight by nightfall of the second day and the next morning we are docked and ready to look for the fountain. We know from our briefing with Jake that the fountain is said to lay behind a rock face with a glyph of a Mayan snake eating its own tail. We pick a path and start walking. After searching most of the island, we find a small waterfall and decide to take a break. The water is cold and feels good in the heat of midday.

"Jason! Look at this!" Piper shouts from the other side of the fall.

Percy is next to her gaping at something on the rock. "We found the snake." He mutters.

I wade through the water and reach the other side. There is the glyph, plain as day.

"Does that mean this," Percy gestures to the waterfall. "Is the Fountain of Youth?"

I don't respond. My eyes are transfixed by the snake and something in my stomach jerks towards the wall. "We have to go beyond the wall." I mutter, trance like.

"How are we going to do that? It's solid stone," Percy slaps the rock for emphasis. "And we left Hazel at the Library."

I start to walk forward. Unflinching I walk right into the wall . . . and keep walking into the hidden tunnel beyond it. It's a s bright as day in here, the walls are glowing blue.

"Jason! Man, where'd you go?" Percy's voice is clear, even though there is at least a foot of stone between us.

"I'm here. You need to walk slowly through the stone." I call back. There is a moment of silence before the rock warps and Piper comes into view. Another moment and Percy appears, flinching and holding his breath.

"So I guess we follow this tunnel?" Piper says, glancing down the blue tunnel. Percy grunts and there is a thud. I turn to see what is going on, when something hard hits the back of my head. As blackness seeps into my vision I think: _Not again._

Soundlessness. White Noise. Words from under water, then finally someone shouting is ringing loudly in my ears. "Come on dude. Wake Up!" A foot is jammed into my ribs.

"Ow." I sit up and try to rub the sore spot, but find my hands bound. Percy and Piper are also tied up. Our bags and weapons lay across the tunnel, against the opposite wall.

"I see you are all wake." A voice says.

"Who are you? What do you want with us?" I shout, struggling against the thick ropes.

"I am well and truly shocked that you haven't figured it out yet. You can possibly be the One." The voice rambles. "But I suppose I should humor you." The figure appears from further down the tunnel.

"Juan! What the hell? You're supposed to be on our side." Percy shouts.

"Silence!" Juan sneers at Percy and then turns to me. "So younger brother, tell me. Do you not recognize me? I would have thought it would have been obvious." His face comes closer to mine and his rotten teeth are revealed in a grotesque smile. A memory sparks.

"Juan Ponce de Leon." I say. "How are you still alive?"

The centuries old Spanish sailor clicks his tongue. "The fountain, of course. That was an easy one. As the Guardian of the key, I am allowed to drink of it."

"Guardian?" Percy looks confused. "Alana didn't mention anything about a guardian."

"The key is too powerful to be left unattended. So I am guarding it. From you." Juan's attention swerves back to me, lips pulled back to reveal the rotting teeth once more. "You are not the One of Sky, you can't be. Zues would not choose someone so weak to be his representative on The Council of Ten. Even he is not that stupid! So now you and your companions will die, and I will keep the key. It is obvious now that I am to be the One. With your sacrifice I will take my rightful place as the Leader of the Greco-Romans!" He stands there, basking in delusion.

"You're crazy." Piper says.

"SILENCE!" Juan screams. He pulls a spanish rapier and orders us to our feet. He holds the blade to Piper's neck. "You boys first. No funny business." He punctuates the command with a press of the rapier against her throat. Percy and I move down the tunnel silently.

Piper's voice echoes in the halls, lower and sweeter than normal. Her charmspeaking voice. "Juan, you have done your job. You have guarded the key. But we need it. It is time to let it go."

I sneak a glance back at Juan and Piper, hoping to see the dreamy look in Juan's eyes that always accompanies Piper's magic. Instead, his eyes narrow and he presses the rapier closer to her throat, a line of blood welling up. "You're a tricky one, aren't you?" Juan has our procession stop and makes Percy tie a gag around Piper's mouth. "Now, keep walking."

Percy meets my eyes as we walk, his gaze asks: _Got any ideas?_ I answer back with the slightest shake of my head. _No._

Several hundred feet later Juan orders us to stop. "The next few feet are booby trapped. So you boys will go first and clear the way for the lady and me."

Knowing how unhinged Juan is, Percy and I advance down the tunnel. We take tentative steps, careful and calculating. Percy brushes the wall and several blades pop out. We dodge them, barely. Another few steps and I hit a loose stone that sends a flurry of darts at us. Surprisingly, they are easy to dodge as well. We keep walking and hear a scuffling sound from behind us. I turn just in time to see Juan lifting a large stone and throwing it at the floor directly under my feet. I jump back and avoid the stone, but wince as I hear what our captor says next.

"I've just realized! I only need one sacrifice, so the rest of you are superfluous." The floor cracks and shatters. Piper screams through her gag. With a yell Percy and I fall down, down, down.

On instinct I command the air to cushion me, slow my fall. A screaming blur passes me and I curse. Using the winds, I fly down to catch my cousin. A bubble of water rises from the darkness below, swallows Percy and lowers him down. Breathing a sigh of relief, I follow the water bubble. I land on a stone outcropping over an underground river. "Percy!" I call out, hearing the echo.

"Here!" The son of the sea pulls himself up out of the water.

"How'd you cut your bonds?" I ask once he is on solid ground.

Percy raises Riptide. "Gotta love magic pen-swords." He smiles and cuts my ropes.

I look up to the hole we fell through. "Juan and Piper probably think we're dead. They won't be expecting us."

"Oh, yeah! Sneak attack, Greek style!" Percy smiles wickedly.

I fly both of us up and out of the hole. As expected Juan and Piper are gone, but we can hear the shuffling of feet and muffled sobs coming from down the blue tunnels. Percy and I move soundlessly and quickly. The blue stone lightens as we continue on, until it's almost white. The tunnel widens and ends in a huge cavern. The space is covered with moss and plant life that glows faintly. In the middle is a stone basin, about six feet across, surrounded by crystals of the deepest purple.

Juan is dragging Piper towards the basin. His voice echos and we can hear every word he says to her. "You are incredibly lucky my dear." says Juan's echo. "And don't you worry. It will be painless, like going to sleep. You can go to Elysium knowing that you helped bring the world to balance, by helping me get my ring."

He continues to babble, but I am seeing red. "He's going to kill her." I growl.

"Jason, calm down. We are going to save her, but we need a plan before we go down there." Percy puts a hand on my shoulder.

A few whispers later, I shout at the top of my lungs. "Put her down, Juan!" Piper's eyes brighten and she shouts my name from behind her gag.

"Ah, so you survived the fall." Juan shoves Piper to the ground and tosses me my weapon. "Now we must battle. Let the Gods witness that I, Juan Ponce de Leon, The One of Sky . . ."

I charge and cut him off. "Shut UP!" I attack with ferocity, but Juan is no novice. I see Percy emerge from his hiding place and untie Piper.

She pulls off her gag and starts yelling. "Juan is old. He is weak. He can't fight!"

The Spaniard's arm droops, his sword too heavy to hold now. I knock it from his hand and he falls to his knees. Piper and Percy come to my side, Riptide finding a place near Juan's neck.

"Where is the key? No funny business." Percy says.

"The same place as the Waters Of Youth. In the Fountain." Juan says, eyes crossed to focus on the bronze blade.

Piper approaches the stone basin cautiously. "It's empty."

"Of course it is." Juan replies to Piper's finding.

"Explain." My voice is deadly clam.

"The Fountain doesn't have the power to give life, only to take. A life must be given for the Water and the key to appear. And it will be yours!" Juan roars and jumps at me. He forces me back, intending to push me inside the stone bowl. I free myself from his grasp and Juan falls forward. He lands in the Fountain, hitting his head on the bottom. Juan sits up and starts to scream. "NO, It was supposed to be him. Take his years!" A faint glow comes from the stone and Juan scrambles to escape it. Everytime he tries something pushes him back. The glow intensifies, becoming brighter and brighter. Juan is lost in the light and we have to look away.

The glow faded and Juan has disappeared. The sound of running water fills the mystic cavern. Blades drawn Percy and I approach the stone bowl. Clear water covers the bottom, only a few ounces at most. But beneath that lays a shimmering bit of silver.

Alana

"Do you normally pace this much when other demigods are on quests?" Ezekial questions, popping chips into his mouth.

"When those demigods said they'd check in every day, and then don't check in for nearly three days, yes, I tend to pace." I make another loop of the main Annex, staring at the old rotary style phone on Jenkins's desk every time it comes into view. Annabeth, Reyna, Frank, and I had been taking turns pacing since the questing trio failed to check in three days ago. Leo and Hazel try to break our obsessive mood with jokes and comfort food, which work about one time in a hundred.

Eve seemed to understand our worry and knew exactly how to help: rigorous training. That woman could have been a Roman centurion for all the hell she put us through during those interim days. It certainly got my mind off the worrying, at least for a little while. Flynn also tried to help, teaching me 'the language of the birds' which is what the scroll and my journal are both written in. Hearing Flynn speak the language out loud, I quickly realized it was the same language I'd slipped into on occasion, which made learning it all the more enticing. It didn't answer all of the questions I had, but it was enough to keep me from killing myself with worry.

Even with the Librarians providing distractions, I still found myself pacing around the Annex on the sixth morning after Jason, Percy, and Piper left. "This is getting ridiculous!" I pull my hands through my hair violently. "At what point do we say 'screw it' and go after them?"

Reyna and Annabeth were preparing the most logical arguements to keep me from doing something stupid when the phone, finally-_FINALLY_\- rang. I slide my way over the center table in an effort to reach the phone first, only to be thwarted by Jenkins.

"Ah, Mr. Grace." All the tension rushes out of my shoulders. "I'll open the Door, right away."

When the Door opens, a warm breeze rushes through, along with our three sweat-soaked, fish-smelling friends. It is quickly decided that our welcoming hugs and the story of the quest would have to wait until after they'd showered.

About an hour later, a freshly-showered Jason sets a cloth wrapped package on the table and slowly unveils the object. We all lean in expectant and apprehensive. When the last bit of cloth is removed, Jason picks up the item.

"It's a . . . ring." I say. The silver toned signet ring gleams in the light of the room. Jason tilts it so we can see the engraving. A bolt of lightning and a storm cloud have been carved as a relief into the ring's top.

Leo chortles. "Anybody else having 'Lord of the Rings' flashbacks?" There are a few scattered laughs, but most of us are too curious to enjoy the joke.

"May I?" Flynn holds out his hand expectantly. As Jason places the ring in his hand, a spark of white electricity arcs out from the ring and into Flynn who is thrown back several feet. The Librarians rush around their leader, checking his hand, asking him if he's alright.

"What was that?" Jason asks, wearily putting the ring down on the table.

Ezekial approaches the ring, reaching a finger out and receives a similar, though less severe shock. "It's a magical security system. Kinda like a bioscanner. It's coded to Jason, so whoever else touches it gets zapped."

Assured, Jason picks up the ring again and slips it on the middle finger of his right hand. He inhales sharply and the ring starts to glow electric blue. His eyes also take on the same glow, but both fade after a moment. "Woah. That was…"

Piper and I both rush forwards and Jason begins to teeter. With our support, he steadies himself, looking down at the ring. "Are you alright? Jason?" I question, but get no response for several moments.

"It felt like getting struck by lightning." He finally says. "I can still feel it. The energy." Jason looks me dead in the eye. "I need to try something."

With all my medical training screaming _NO_, some other sixth sense tells me to let him. So I walk with him, providing steady hands, all the way to the training field. Everyone follows, curious. Jason pushes me away when we reach the field, walking to the center by himself. I keep everyone back at a safe distance, the same sense already predicting what was going to happen.

Alone in the middle of the field, Jason rolls his head towards the sky, letting out a long breath. Above him, dark storm clouds gather and thunder rolls, but there is no strain in his face, not like all the other times he's summoned Zues's power. Jason seems relaxed, in control, at peace, even as the storm picks up around him. With a single hand in the air Jason calls down, one, two, three, bolts of lightning in quick succession.

"He couldn't do that before," Piper says in a soft voice, almost in disbelief.

"I think that's the point." I say.

Jason drops his hand, the storm dissipates, but instead of collapsing into exhaustion as he had in previous battles, he remains standing. He walks back over the group, as casual as could be, smiling. "This thing is awesome."


	4. The Dove and the Forge

A/N: It's crazy how much the world can change in a month, isn't it? I hope everyone is safe and that you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 4: The Dove and the Forge

After Jason's display on the training field, I give him a thorough look over. His vitals are normal and he can take the ring off without any problem, which quells some of my Nine's nerves. Leo makes us dinner in the boy's room while we talk over everything we've learned so far. The talk would be serious, if everyone wasn't talking around Leo's Supreme Tacos.

"So the keys are actually rings, and they seem to provide some kind of power boost, but only to the person they were meant for," Annabeth says, greasy fingers sketching shapes in the air.

"Juan mentioned something about a Council of Ten, and said that by claiming the ring he'd take his place on it as 'the One of Sky'." Jason twists the signet ring around his finger as he talks.

"There are ten of us and there are ten keys or rings." Reyna adds. "So let's assume that we're the 'Council' and that Jason is 'the One of Sky'. Does this mean there's a title for each of us? And what do they mean?"

There's a rising anxiety around the table, so I deflect. "I think we might have to wait for answers until we get to the Temple. All we can do is find the rings and hope for the best." The tension ebbs away, with focus going towards the nine other rings we still need to find.

The next morning we all meet in the Annex again. Piper's prophecy is next in the list, followed by Leo's, and depending on who they choose to go with them we might be able to send both of them off at once.

Piper reads out her passage first:

"Thorns and roses hide the dove,

only to be found by a warrior of true love.

Receive the ring with charm and grace,

do not make your forebears mistakes.

The key is now kept,

by a lady that once slept."

Most of us were quite stumped, but luckily Piper has a good relationship with her gut feelings. She asked Jenkins if the Library had a book of fairy tales, and soon Piper is flipping through a thick tome bound in dark leather with gold leaf on the pages. She comes to a stop at one particular story. "Sleeping Beauty. I knew that something about my lines were familiar. Thorns and roses grew around the castle and could only be parted by the Beauty's true love."

The Librarians latch onto the idea and begin pulling other texts from shelves. Jake, who is the Library's resident historian, explains the Italian origins of the tale and the changes made in the more popular French version.

Piper however, holds fast to the fairy tale book Jenkins gave her initially. One of the illustrations, a distorted map with the fabled castle right in the middle, seems to have caught her eye. She looks up and says with utter surety. "It's a map."

The Librarians are a little puzzled, but allow us to work our own way through. Armed with Piper's hunch and a world atlas, it takes us only a few minutes to find where that castle would have been located. A few laughs rise up as we are struck by the irony of its location.

"France?" Nico says.

"As in 'ze country of _amore_?" Leo adds, using a very cheesy french accent.

"Yes, Leo. France." Piper says, her tone warning the mechanic to lay off the jokes. He chuckles nervously.

The Librarians, who hadn't given up on their method, come to the same conclusion about ten minutes later and the work begins. People go out and get supplies, secure papers and all the other things Piper's team will need.

"Who are you going to take with you anyway Pipes?" Jason asks.

She ponders the question for only a moment. "Reyna, I'd be honored if you would join me." The Praetor smiles in response.

"That's two. You can take one more, but any more than three is risky." I say.

Piper nods. "Annabeth? How about you?" The child of Athena says yes quickly.

"I guess that means we can send Leo, or at least start the research bit." Jason guides Leo towards the chalkboard and lets him read his passage.

"Ring sweet bell for liberty and life,

In a new nation born free from tyranny's strife.

Find the ring in the tower where liberty was hung,

Break the ancient chain on which it is strung.

The founder's son guards the ring,

energy and persistence conquers all things."

Leo looks up, eyes wide. "I know where my ring is."

"This is no time to be dramatic, Leo. Spit it out." I say.

"Philadelphia. To be precise, the State House, where the Liberty Bell was hung." Leo looks back at the group. "I want to take Hazel and Frank."

The two groups gather their things, tuck away their Library-issue phones, and pass through the Back Door in waves.

Leo

The portal door leaves me with a spinning head and a queasy stomach, but these feelings quickly dissipate as I look around. We stepped into a quiet side street only a few blocks away from the State House. Once I make sure Frank and Hazel are behind me, I start to walk towards it.

The streets are nearly empty, which makes getting to the State House easy, but the entire city seems to be asleep. Or dead. "Anyone else feel like the star in a zombie movie?" I mutter.

"Welcome Seekers!" A voice booms around the street. "Which one of you is The One of Fire, hm?" Something pulls in my gut, like a child when they hear their full name. We turn in slow circles, searching for the source.

"What do you mean, One of Fire?" Hazel asks, having drawn her _spatha_.

"The Greco-Roman hasn't told you yet? Or is it that she herself doesn't know yet? Interesting." There is the slightest sound of scribbling, as if the voice is taking notes. He, for the voice is male, mutters to himself seeming to have forgotten about us.

"Hey, disembodied voice dude!" I say. "I am The One of Fire, I guess."

The scribbling stops. "Wonderful! Your name please. For the record." Hazel quirks an eyebrow, but I give the voice my name. "Leo Valdez, excellent. Even if you are The One, I will have to test you, just to make sure." Creaking metal, groaning joints. "Defeat the creature and find the ring before the sun sets and we will know if you are indeed The One of Fire."

The voice's condescending tone is getting on my nerves, but I direct the emotion to the creature he mentioned. Hazel's scream pulls me from my thoughts. She and Frank are wrapped in metal wire.

"Ah, I forgot to mention." The voice says, in a sickly sweet way. "The trial is for you and you only, Leo Valdez, Child of Hephaestus. No assistance. And of course if you fail, these two will die. No pressure." Then once more the voice cuts away, this time taking my friends with him.

The creaking noise gets closer. I pull a large hammer from my tool belt and try to think back to my strategy classes at Camp. Unknown enemy with unknown capabilities. Time limit and a hidden object. _The creature is probably guarding the ring. _I conclude. Changing direction, I head to the State House. The creaking gets louder as I work my way through the streets. Whatever this thing is it's slow, and judging from how the ground shakes, heavy. I can use that.

I peer around the last corner. There stands my creature, a beast of rusted metal with two glowing red eyes. It paces in front of the stairs to the State House. Four steps, pause, turn, four steps back. I could easily slip by him and into the building, to find my ring. I can feel it pulling me, like Jason described. I turn my head a few degrees and watch the sun. It is just passing it's zenith. I have roughly 6 hours to complete my trial.

A snorting, snuffling noise pulls me from my musings. "I can smell you, little ember. I see why you want the ring's power, oh yes. Scrawny, powerless, a builder not a fighter." A metallic chuckle reverberates through the stone wall. "You are going to be crushed."

My anger bubbles up and my hands burst into flame. I step around the corner and send white hot flame at the creature. It screeches and falls to the ground. It lays smoking and drops to my knees. Flames that hot take a lot of energy. Or at least, they do now. If Jason's display the other night means anything, once I have my ring I'll have power to spare. I take a deep breath and edge my way around the smoking ruin of the beast.

I sprint up the stairs. At the top of the tower is a small octagonal room with eight arched windows looking out over the city. The ring is here, I know it, but since this place is a historical site, it must be hidden well. Before I can start my search, a tremendous crash shakes the building. A glance out the window confirms my fears. The creature is back up and moving again. "I knew it was too easy."

I pace up in the tower. The beast howls below about my inferiority and weakness, and I am starting to believe him. The only thing keeping me from going down there and surrendering is the pull in my gut. The ring is close, so very close. I speak the prophecy aloud, looking for any type of clue. "Find the ring in the tower where liberty was hung, Break the ancient chain on which it is strung." Chain! There are several lengths of chain hanging from the ceiling that used to hold the Bell. I inspect each one, each link slowly. Finally I find a link that is not a link at all. The circle of metal is a dark shiny bronze, and close in size and shape to the silver one Jason has. My ring.

I run my fingers over the chain. How can I remove the ring without destroying it? "I could really use your help, Hazel." I say aloud.

Doubt washes over me in a flood. Who was I kidding? I can't do this. I'm just the mechanic. I only got through all that other stuff because I had help. I sink to my knees. "You're right. I am nothing." I whisper.

The beast chuckles. "Of course I am. Doubt is always right, as is Fear. And now I will consume yours." The beast rises to its full height and its face comes to rest in front of one of the many windows.

"LEO! Don't give in! That's what he wants!" _Hazel?_

"Come on, Leo. Get up! You can do this!" _Frank?_

The beast drowns out their words. "They lie little ember, you're nothing. They will be better off without you."

But hearing my friends sparked something inside. I stand. "You're the one who's wrong." I say. The beast recoils a little. "I know I can do this. It is my birthright. I was born to be The One of Fire!" I shout. Then more words come to me. "I am Leo Valdez! The One of Fire, Wielder of Hephaestus's Hammer, Engineer of the Greco-Romans!" I place my hands on the beast and push. He falls back and shatters against the pavement. The chain behind me shatters into gold filaments and the ring falls to the ground. I slip it on. The trial is over.

Hazel and Frank appear at my side. Once they assure me that they are all right we decide it is time to leave. Downstairs we find a plain looking man, covered in grease and oil. He smiles at us. "I am The Guardian of the Fire Ring, Thomas Franklin, great great great grandson of Benjamin Franklin, the first Guardian." He bows. "It is an honor to finally see the ring in the right hands."

Still on edge, the three of us draw weapons and fall into defensive positions. "Hold on, young ring-seekers. I mean you no harm." We do not move our weapons away, nor do we relax. "I see that you do not believe me. I am guessing the One of Sky told you of Juan's treachery. Let me assure you, not all of the Guardians are as corrupt as he. Being exposed to the ring's power for centuries turned his mind against his cause. For this I offer my humblest apologies."

"How do you know that Jason found his ring?" Frank asks, lowering his bow slightly.

"All of us Guardians are connected. I knew that the One of Sky, Jason was it, had found his ring. It was simple then, to deduce that you would be coming, which is why I made sure all of the townspeople would be asleep."

My hammer disappears and Hazel's _spatha_ returns to its sheath.

Smiling, Tom says, "Now, are you hungry? The town is awake again and I know an excellent restaurant."

Tom offers us a place to sleep that night and the next morning we say our goodbyes and call the Library for a door.

After stepping through the Back Door and dumping our stuff the three of us explain what happened in Philly. When I come to the part where I defeat the creature, Jenkins's head snaps up.

"Say that again." He orders.

"I told the creature that I was the One of Fire and started listing a whole bunch of other titles."

His gaze narrows. "Name them."

"Wielder of Hephaestus's Hammer and Engineer of the Greco-Romans." Jenkins stands and walks over to the card catalog, sorting through and selecting a card. We all jump as a shelf appears out of thin air. Jenkins pulls a book from the new shelf and starts flipping through the pages.

"I should have noticed when Jason told us about Juan." He says. He looks at Jason and me. "Both of you, when you faced your trial, announced a similar set of titles. Those titles are used to describe a group called 'The Ten of Legend'. No names are given but listen to this." He reads from one of the pages.

"_The Ten were led by the Ones of Sky, Sea, and Death for they were powerful, loyal, and determined. The One of Fire was their Engineer, he crafted their grand weapons and assisted the One of Wisdom in building great cities for their people to live in. The Ones of Strength and War were in turn assisted by the One of Wisdom in strategy and other policy. The One of Wealth served as the treasurer and manipulated the earth for farming. The Ones of Voice and Light served as Peacemakers, being skilled in diplomacy and persuasion. Together these Ten served and protected their people, leading them into a golden age._"

We sit in awe. "I think," Jason says. "We need to discuss this further when Piper gets back."

Piper

A train traveling through rural France

I stare out the window, watching the French landscape go by. We ended up sharing a booth with an overweight French man who after ogling us for several minutes, decided to take a nap. His snores are loud enough to keep several other people in our car from rest and Reyna is just about ready to smother him. In all honesty we all are. Thankfully the train comes to a gentle stop and the man leaves.

"Finally. Now we can talk." Annabeth says taking a seat on the opposite side of the booth as Reyna and me. "Based on what we learned from Jaosn, each ring should have a Guardian. If we can figure out who the guardian of yours is, we can be better prepared."

"I would have thought it would be obvious." Reyna says. "The key is now kept/by the lady that once slept. The Beauty has it."

I nod. "But what is she going to make me do?" We throw around ideas for the next hour or so. The cities of France have melted away, leaving only a dusky countryside. We still have several hours until our stop, it will be morning by then. "Let's get some sleep. We'll have more time to think tomorrow."

I am the last to wake the next morning. Reyna and Annabeth have brought me some food and some news from the dining car. While I eat they tell me what they have discovered.

"There was a woman in the dining car, a tour guide." Annabeth starts. "Apparently there are several abandoned castles in the area, but only one that has been completely taken over by vegetation." She passes me a brochure. It's in French, but the picture on the front is a dead ringer for the storybook castle in Sleeping Beauty, all the way down the mass of rose hedges around it. "We have a destination."

At the train station, we find out that the castle is part of a guided tour route. It appears to be the fastest and safest way to get to our goal so I don't hesitate to sign up. Unfortunately I did not account for the length of the tour. It is nearing dinnertime by the time we pass the overgrown castle. The French speaking tour guide rattles off her pre-prepared speech and announces we have an hour to eat before we have to be back on the bus.

I catch Reyna and Annabeth's eyes and we slip away from the group. "According to the guide, the castle is mostly a ruin which is why no one is allowed in. Probably a trick of the Mist." I say as we work our way through the dense vegetation that separates the road from the hedged in castle.

"Piper, what's your plan for getting inside the hedge?" Reyna says from behind me.

My words freeze on my tongue, I hadn't thought that far ahead. I was just trusting my gut.

Annabeth comes to my rescue, replying with her famous logic. "They should open right up. Being a child of the love goddess, Piper is a 'warrior of true love'. Our real problem will be the Beauty and her trial."

After that our journey is made in silence, either out of concentration or respect for the place we are about to enter.

The forest ends several feet before the hedge of roses begins. From our vantage point the hedge blots out the sky, casting a long cold shadow over the earth. Each of us pause a moment and pull out our blades, daggers and swords made of bronze, gold and bone. We form a wedge; Annabeth and Reyna to my left and right, only a step or two behind me, advancing on the roses. The tip of Katoptris barely brushes a single leaf, and the wall of foliage splits in two. The vines weave themselves into a welcoming archway, filled with the late afternoon sunlight and dotted with roses of every color imaginable. It's like stepping into a fairy tale.

We walk slowly through the arch, weary of every step and ready to turn back if need be. The hedge is only ten feet thick, but in the time it takes us to cover that distance the castle before us transforms. The moss covered stones clean themselves of grime. Flags appear on the towers and life is breathed back into the empty space of the courtyard. Blue toned spirits, all women, dressed in clothing from almost every time period turn to see us enter the castle. They look at me and break into whispers. _**Is she the One? Will she be the one to set us free?**_

One of the grandest looking spirits, dressed in a huge ball gown covered in shimmering brocade holds her hands aloft, quieting the group. _**Get Lady Rose. Tell her . . . Another group of seekers has come to prove themselves.**_ Several of the blue women float upwards to the tallest tower. The grand lady looks us up and down, scrutinizing every detail. _**You will come with me. We must make you presentable to our Lady.**_

The inside of the castle is just as breathtaking as the outside. Everything shimmers or sparkles or shines in the evening light that comes through the huge windows. The grand lady leads us to a large chamber. _**You will clean yourselves and dress for dinner. The washroom is through that door. Gowns are in these trunks and all other finery can be found in the drawers of the vanity. Good day, Seekers. **_The lady points around the room and then leaves abruptly.

"What do you think, Pipes? Play along or fight?" Annabeth asks me.

"I would prefer to fight." Reyna mutters.

"I think it would be wise to follow instructions, at least until we know what's going on." They agree with me, though a little unwillingly in Reyna's case.

It only takes a little while for Annabeth and I to dress. Annabeth wears a simple grey dress with long sleeves. It will be easy to run and fight in if need be. I braid her hair and pin it up into a halo, securing it with jeweled pins from the vanity. I find a soft blue gown that has tiny crystals and pearls sewn into the cloth. But Reyna is another story.

Annabeth pounds on the washroom door. "Come on Reyna! We need you to get dressed. The spirit said dinner was at seven and it's a quarter 'til."

The door opens a crack and one of Reyna's eyes and part of her mouth appears. "I'm not going. I don't feel well."

Annabeth catches the edge of the door and pulls it open. "That's not the reason. Spill."

The proud daughter of Belladonna looks down in shame. "The last time I wore a dress was on Circe's island. It just brings back bad memories."

I place a hand on her shoulder. "Then let's make some happy ones."

Ten minutes later the three of us are escorted down a giant hall of mirrors. I catch our reflection in the wall and smile secretly. Annabeth looks cool and calculating in grey and the crystal pins in her blonde hair catch the light. No other gems does she wear, but her bone sword and bronze dagger adorn her hip. Reyna looks like a queen in the flowing purple gown we found. Her dark hair is loose and adorned with a golden circle, which matches the gold chain around her throat and the golden blade at her waist. My pale blue dress and the matching silver circle make me look like one of the nymphs we met in Rome. I am the only one unarmed in the trio. Despite that, the three of us radiate power and confidence. I dare this Lady Rose to try anything.

The spirit leading us waves her hand and the giant door ahead of us swings open. All of the other spirit-women are already seated at four circular tables, except for the grand one who sits at a long rectangular table up on a dias. The empty chair next to hers is a throne, carved with roses. Lady Rose isn't here yet. Our guide takes us up to the dias and has us sit in the three chairs to the left of the throne. I feel the eyes of the women on me, waiting and hoping. I think back to what they whispered when we arrived. Are these my forebears? Others who tried to claim the ring and failed? Pity swells in my chest. I will save them.

Winds pick up plates and whisk them away, bringing another round of food. But for us three only. The blue women, having no need for food, sit and talk among themselves. The final plates are revealed, each holding a different colored rose. Reyna's is blood red, Annabeth's pure white. The eyes are back on us, watching carefully. The dome on my plate is pulled away revealing a pale pink rose and the women start to chatter again.

The grand ghost rises from her seat. _**Lady Rose has chosen the warrior. **_Her eyes land on the pink rose then slide up to me. _**This one will compete. If she wins, she will receive the ring and freedom will be ours. But I remind you. None of us were able to defeat the trial. And we were handpicked by the gods! What hope does she have?**_

Reyna reaches for her blade, but Annabeth snatches her hand. I rise and lock eyes with Miss High-and-Mighty. "What hope do I have? I do not believe you know to whom you speak." The blue glow of her cheeks brightens, like a rageful flush. "I am Piper McLean, Daughter of Aphrodite, The Charmspeaker and one of the Seven who defeated Gaea when she rose last summer. I have faced down monsters, giants and crazed gods. I can handle any trial your Lady can give me."

A slow clapping starts from somewhere in the hall. All of the women freeze.

"Well done, little dove. Not many of your predecessors had this much gusto." A body, a real flesh and blood one, emerges from the shadows. "Welcome to my castle, young seekers, I am Lady Rose. Though you probably know me as The Sleeping Beauty." Just like in the story, Rose has porcelain skin, blonde hair and pale pink lips. Her gown is simple and understated, in the same hue of blue as mine. Annabeth and Reyna rise from their chairs and we fall into shaky curtseys.

Lady Rose tilts her head in appreciation. "Now, dinner is done and the trial starts at dawn tomorrow. Agatha." The ghost in the gaudy dress curtseys. "Take them to their quarters. I must prepare." Agatha curtseys again and leads us from the dining hall.

Each of us is given a different room. Well 'room' is an understatement. This suite has five rooms, not including the washroom. I had hoped to discuss strategy with Reyna and Annabeth, they always seem to know what to do. Deprived of that, I pace. Through the study, turn,then the antechamber to the bedroom and lounge then turn again to the sunroom and back into the study. "What am I going to do?" I chant, finally falling backwards on the large bed when my legs become weak. I lay there, staring at the ceiling and waiting for inspiration to hit. In its stead, sleep finds me.

The next morning I am instructed to dress in my old clothes and arm myself by one of the blue women. Once that is done she escorts me to one of the large courtyards.

"Welcome Piper." Lady Rose says when I come to stand in front of her throne. "My trial consists of many parts and you will be happy to know you have already passed two of them." Lady Rose watches my face and sees my confusion. "When you helped your friend Reyna get dressed last night and overcome her past discomfort, you passed the Test of Beauty. Making others look and feel beautiful is one of the roles of a child of Aphrodite. You have also passed the Test of Persuasion, when you spoke up against Agatha at dinner. You gave these lost souls hope again, after so long." She smiles at me gently. "Your final two tests are as follows. Love and Strength." She waves her hands and a door appears. "Through this door is a sort of obstacle course. At the end are your friends. Find them quickly and make your way back here. Then you will have proven yourself worthy of the Dove's Ring and the titles that come with it."

I brace myself and open the door. Beyond it is a mirrored corridor, much like the one we walked through to get to dinner. I step over the threshold and the door slams closed behind me. Hand on the hilt of my dagger, I advance slowly. The mirrors reflect my image over and over, showing thousands of me. They move with me turning and stepping as I do. Halfway down this hall I start to hear voices. Whispered doubts. I pay them no mind. I have faced my doubts before and finding my companions is more important. Sensing this determination the voices stop. The mirrors suddenly stop, leaving me in a room of black.

"You there. Over here. Look over here." A voice calls.

I spin scanning the room, finding the source in another reflection.

"Well you aren't exactly what I was expecting." The reflection moves on her own slowly encircling me. "Scraggly, dirty, and the way you dress, pft."

I am frozen in her words, all I can do is watch the mirror-me.

"You really think you are worthy? Darling! Get your head out of the clouds." Images dance over the black, my father, Camp Half-Blood, Jason and all my other friends. "You aren't a fighter, you're a beauty queen. Shallow and petty." The voices of my friends now speak her words of hate and loathing.

"I don't know why we still trust you. After all, if given the right incentive, you would turn against us again." Hazel sneers.

"You think I love you? Dumpster Queen?" Jason laughs. More voices, more horrible words. I fall to my knees

"You aren't worthy and you know it. But I am." The mirror-me says, standing over me. "Let me continue on. I will take your place as The One of Voice, and I will make them proud. Just say the words. And all your troubles go away." Her voice is velvet soft, sweet as honey.

I know what to say to make this stop, I have to make this stop. "I . . ." The words are caught in my throat. In this moment of pause, the voices of my friends reach my ears again. This time though they encourage me, tell me that they value and need me. I begin to speak again. "I am Piper McLean, Daughter of Aphrodite." The reflection screams and doubles over in pain. "I am the One of Voice, Peacemaker of the Greco-Romans, and Wielder of Katropis!"

The reflection shatters at my announcement and lights come on around the room. Annabeth and Reyna sit bound to chairs in a far corner. I run over to them and cut them free. "The exit is this way." I say.

They follow me and we start to walk back through the hall of mirrors. The voices are back and once again I brush them aside. But Annabeth and Reyna are not prepared for the voice's lies and start to crumble under their assault. I rush to their sides, whispering the good things about them, telling them how much I and all the others at the Library depend on them. When they are able to stand again, I take their hands and still speaking highly of them, lead them out of the mirror and back into Lady Rose's courtyard. There all of the blue women are waiting for us. They erupt into cheers. _**She's won! We are free!**_

Lady Rose claps for us, smiling. "Well done, Piper McLean. You have proven yourself worthy of the Dove's Ring." She opens a small gilded box and passes it to me. Inside is a copper signet ring, obviously designed for a lady. The top is carved with my mother's Dove. "Now you must leave. As I understand it you and the others have a long way to go still and in so little time." Our bags appear at Rose's feet.

We say our goodbyes and exit through the hedge. We find the road again and hitch a ride to the train station. "Two down, eight to go." I say slipping the copper ring onto my hand.


	5. Gold, Sea, and Boars

A/N: Decided on a longer chapter this week, since I've had so much free time on my hands. I might even start updating twice a month if this keeps up.

Chapter 5: Gold, Sea, and Boars

Alana

Piper calls for a door the day after Leo came back to the Library. We fill her in on what we learned and she tells us what happened in France. The Librarians are fascinated with everything Piper says, recording the location of the castle and the existence of Lady Rose and the blue ghosts for 'further research'. Piper adds that Lady Rose and the ghosts vanished as soon as her trial was over, which deflates them a little. A banging sound draws everyone's attention to a large book sitting on the center table. I'd never paid much attention to it, and neither had my Nine, though the Librarians had told us it was important. The book told them when magical artifacts started wreaking havoc and had to be removed before too many people got hurt. This seems to be one of those times, as every Librarian rushes over to the book and starts talking over each other in excitement.

Jenkins shakes his head, "Apparently they have a new mission. But the Library will continue to be at your service as you finish your quests." The Librarians begin to rush around the Annex and head out into the hallway beyond, still talking loudly. "Excuse me." Jenkins follows them calmly and leaves us alone in the Annex.

My Nine start talking quietly, but I don't pay much attention. In my mind, I am forming a picture of the coming trials. They are designed to push us to a breaking point, to push us into fear, doubt and shatter our confidence. I have every confidence in my friends, but do they have it in themselves? Does that even matter? Both Piper and Leo were so very close to giving up and they are some of the most self-sure people in the group. I feel a tap on my shoulder and jolt a little.

"Woah, daydreaming again 'Lana?" Hazel jokes slightly, concern showing in her eyes.

"Just thinking." I say. _**You know, we could try opening up a bit? We can trust everyone in this room. **__**But we can't just unload everything on them, They're stressed enough.**_ The twins's differing opinions sparks a glaring match that makes my head pound. I wince slightly, but before I know it a water glass and some aspirin are set in front of me. After downing the pills, I nod my thanks to my rescuer: Nico. Clearing my throat, I say. "We have to finish finding the rings. Um, Percy is next, and then Frank."

Percy reads his passage from the chalkboard slowly:

"The trident lies far from the sea,

Buried deeper than the roots of a tree.

The land of sun, sea and gold,

Keeps the ring deep within its hold.

Loyalty and hope will be your guide

When sorrow and regret are on the tide."

We spend a moment brainstorming. Like Piper and Leo, Percy feels a gentle tug towards one location: The Redwoods. He is also certain of another thing. "Hazel needs to come with me."

Hazel nods, "I think I have to go too. If he's going to be traveling underground, he'll need my skills."

"Then I'm going too." Frank says.

Hazel shakes her head. "You heard Alana. Your ring is next." Frank makes a face, but agrees.

Nico volunteers to go as well, he's been itching to get out of the Library for days now. We prepare the supplies and get them ready for their departure. Jenkins sets the Door for The Redwood National Park while Leo watches everything he does carefully, asking questions occasionally. Once that is done, we say goodbye to the three travelers. They step through the door and it swings closed behind them.

Frank is anxious to get his trial over with, so he reads his passage:

"The Spear guards and is guarded  
By fallen warriors the ring is hid  
Peace and War, now is the time to decide

Both in one, protect, provide

To find what you look for  
Music calms the raging boar"

"New Rome." Frank says after a moment of thought. "I have to go to my father's temple." Both Reyna and Piper offer to go with him, but he refuses. "'Music calms the raging boar', I need a musician. There is only one person I can take." His gaze falls on me.

I smile up at Frank and nod. For this journey we don't pack much, just our weapons and a small supply of godly food and medical supplies. This time Leo works with the Door all by himself, though Jenkins watches carefully the whole time, and successfully links the Library to New Rome. We say goodbye and step through the door.

The tingling feeling in my stomach and the nausea stirred up by the instantaneous travel, is quickly quelled by the fresh California air. Leo dropped us just outside the Pomeranian Line, where we startled several Legionnaires. Terminus eyes me carefully but lets us pass into the city. I let my eyes wander, taking in the rebuilt wonders of Roman architecture.

"Leo and his team had just finished up when you summoned us together." Frank says , shifting the weight of his pack. "People here are starting to see him, and all the Greeks, better."

"That's good." I reply, my mind elsewhere. Keeping us separate was a good idea on the Gods' part, we needed to create and sustain our own cultures. But now, I can't help but feel that dividing our forces this way will be a hindrance later on. I stick the thought on a back burner as Frank picks up his pace. He practically runs into Mars Ultor's temple, skidding to a stop on the polished floors just before the statue. I come into the sacred ground about a minute after. "Damn, Frank. What's the hurry?" I ask, trying to catch my breath. Maybe all those days lounging in the Library weren't such a good idea.

Frank's eyes are locked on the statue of his father. "He was trying to warn me. I should have seen." He says.

"Warn you? About what?"

Frank whirls around, holding a paperback. He tosses it to me.

I flip the book around to read the title. "The Art of War? What does that have to do with this?"

"Mars gave it to me when we were in Canada. 'Read up.' he said. 'This book could save your life one day.'"

I hold up a hand, halting him. "You think that your Guardian is San Tzu? And that Mars gave you the book to prepare you?"

Frank nods.

In that instant I see how scared he is. If his trial is like the others, his fear could kill him. I can't let that happen. "You are one of the best strategists and one of the best warriors I know. You can do this. I know you can."

He takes a shuddering breath and turns to face the statue again. It's eyes glow red and a part of the base crumbles, to reveal a long, dark and very narrow tunnel. Frank walks forward without hesitation, while I fight an internal war. _**You have to go. He needs your help. **__But I can't. It's . . . __** Just a tunnel. A way to get to a destination. **__** And Frank needs you.**__ Right okay. I can do this. _

My feet move agonisingly slow, that is until Roma snatches the controls from me and drives me forward. Greca gives her sister the stink eye, but Roma shrugs. _**Do you have another idea to keep her moving?**_ I take back control of our body from my Roman side and continue to walk with conviction, into the dark.

My breathing is heavy, my chest tight but I keep walking. Frank glances back periodically, but I flash him a smile and he keeps moving. In an attempt to quell my anxiety I look at our surroundings, try to forget about the tons of earth above my head. The tunnel is slowly sloping downward and has a slight curve to it. The walls are plain dirt and set with iron sconces, shaped like boar's heads. This sparks a hint of apprehension._**Will the boars come alive and attack us?**__**Well considering it's Mars . . .Mrph.**_

I slap a mental hand over Roma's mouth. Thankfully the tunnel widens and the ceiling soars above us. The resulting space is about as big as a small theater, the ceiling only 10 or so feet above us. My hold on Roma's voice slips and she smirks evilly, hinting just enough at horrors to come that I soon have to fight Greca's fear. _Roma, stop scaring Greca and shut the hell up!_ I shout in my head.

While I was dealing with my inner turmoil, Frank surveyed the space. "These doors are pretty big. Hannibal could fit through easily, even with his kevlar vest on. The ground is smooth, no loose material or rocks. Slight pitch towards the center of the room from the exterior walls." He mutters, glancing around at each aspect. But when I look at him, there is no anxiety, not in his face or his eyes or his body language. Looking even closer, lowering my gaze into the Mist, I can see his aura, a little something I learned during my months of solitude. It flickers like a fire, a warm burgundy, sort of red-brown color. It shines brightly with courage, not a trace of fear. That gives me strength.

Despite his confidence, Frank explains that we are at a disadvantage. "We are in an unknown place, one that could be riddled with traps and sneak attacks." He suggests that I take an archer's position atop one of the giant arched entryways. He will stay below and draw the attack, whatever it may be, using his animal forms. I scramble on to the ledge with a helping hand - er, trunk from Frank. I crouch into the shadow created by the lack of light and notch an arrow. Frank kneels down in the middle of the room, human once again, and waits. After a minute, the room rumbles and I press against the wall, hoping not to get hit by falling rock. The son of Mars barely moves, even when a stalactite crashes to the floor mere centimeters from him. He keeps his eyes fixed on one of the doors, the one opposite mine, even though an enemy could come from any of the five different tunnels. A snuffling sound starts to echo down two of the tunnels, to Frank's 10 and 2. In a simple motion he stands and holds his sword, a wide gold blade, in front of him.

The snuffling beasts stay in the shadows of the tunnels, their glowing eyes the only things visible. Frank turns slightly to watch the creatures and I follow his movement with my eyes. A man's voice reverberates around the chamber, it's source and language unknown. Frank doesn't respond, but turns away from the glowing eyes in the other tunnels to face the one opposite me. A shaded figure stands tall and wide in the door, but other than that my archer's eyes can't see much. The shape of his shoulders and hips are odd, armour perhaps? And that jutting shape near his waist is a sword, but not one I recognise. The hilt is smooth, no ridges or grips and no pommel on the end. What is most disconcerting is his eyes. Even from this distance I can tell they aren't natural. There is no light of them, no sign of life. Are these the dead eyes of a Bone Warrior? Or is San Tzu just as crazy as Juan was?

In a quick motion, the figure throws his arm out and the animals charge at Frank. As they burst into the light, I see that they are indeed boars and, remembering Frank's passage, I sing the first thing that comes to mind, one of the many Greek campfire songs. The pigs squeal and halt only inches away from goring Frank. I keep singing as he vaults over the beasts towards the figure in the door. I can not help, I can't even move from this spot or the boars will attack.

Frank attacks the figure and slowly backs up to pull him into the light. This is not San Tzu. It is a bone warrior, dressed in what appears to be samurai armour. It chatters its teeth at Frank, goading and taunting him. I watch, still singing and holding onto my ledge like a lifeline, as the creature turns and makes a tactical retreat. Frank follows him, not even sparing me a backward glance. _Great teamwork Frank. Run off into the unknown and leave your only backup up here by myself, surrounded by wild boars, with no way down. _I can only hope he comes back unharmed and keep singing.

Frank

_Follow me or the cavern will collapse on your friend. The master of war wishes to meet you._ The words of the Bone Warrior echo in my mind as my steps echo in this maze of tunnels. As I feared, this place is a labyrinth. The tunnel branches and twists back on itself too many times to count. _That's his play. San Tzu wants me disoriented and separated._ It was too late to reconsider, all I could do was continue to follow the Bone Warrior. Alana's voice, echoing through the caverns, is a constant reminder of what I have to fight for. Given what Leo and Piper said, her life will be forfeit if I fail. The Bone Warrior continues on its path, around and around in these identical corridors. Alana's music is but a memory now. Finally the tunnel widens and the ceiling soars. I am alone, the warrior having disintegrated into ash as soon as I entered.

"Ah, you have finally come. I was beginning to think that the prophecy was a sham." A rich voice, with hints of a Chinese accent, echoes around the room.

"So you knew I was coming?" I ask, eyes fixed on one spot on the far wall. There is a relief there, a dip in the stone wall. There sits, upon a wide stone pedestal, San Tzu, the Master of War.

He stands and walks towards me. "Of course. After my recorded death, the Master's Guild sent me here to guard the Ring of the Spear. They told me to watch for you, the one who would seek the ring. I have seen others come forth and claim the other Rings in recent days. I knew it would only be a matter of time. Though you are not entirely what I expected."

I snort. "I get that a lot."

He nods, laughter in his eyes. "I guess you do. Now I assume you want the Ring?" He gestures and another Bone Warrior comes forth, holding a dark wood box. He takes the box from the undead warrior, and watches as it also crumbles to dust. San Tzu sighs, "Pity. They are my only company down here. Unfortunately, they never last very long."

I do not notice the dust of the warrior. The dark wood in his hands has my attention, I can not look away. My breath stills, anticipation building. _Open it. _My mind begs. _Open it!_

The master of war opens the lid, revealing a signet ring, just like the others, the top emblazoned with a single spear and a rounded shield. I feel a pull in my stomach and take an involuntary step. "Ah, so you feel it. The power of the Ring. That is a good sign, as is the presence of your friend. She's the Greco-Roman, yes? A Daughter of Apollo? Very good."

I shake myself mentally, raising my eyes from the iron ring to meet his gaze. He looks at me as if he expected my reaction, the possessiveness I feel. The ring is calling to me, like the others said. Still, it isn't mine yet. "But I'm guessing I can't just take it and leave. I have to complete the trial."

He nods somberly. "It will be fair though. But it is difficult. Your mind will be your greatest enemy, as will your body. You may not survive."

I bark out a laugh and receive an odd look from San Tzu. "I'm sorry. But, really, do you know how I spent last summer? The threat of death is nothing."

The master of war looks on, his eyes watching me like an oddity at a traveling fair. "Very well. The trial begins."

After those words, things became hazy, without focus. I am fighting creatures, bone warriors, great stone animals. There is the warmth of blood on my hands, paws, feet. I do not know how long the fighting goes on, how many foes. But San Tzu's eyes are always on me, widening in shock as I scream battle cries and fell his greatest warriors. Something bubbles up in me, a force, an anger that could not be cooled except by the touch of iron against my skin.

The final enemy destroyed, I approach San Tzu, eyes fixed only on the box in his hands. "I am the One of War. The Ring of the Spear is my birthright. I am Frank Zhang, Blessed by Mars, the Wielder of the Gladius Pax, the Animus Warrior. You will not keep the Ring from me."

But the War Master held tight to the box. He sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, I will. You have not passed the trial, warrior. I told you that your mind would be your enemy, but you did not realize the type of enemy it would become."

I snarl like a wild animal, lunge for the box. San Tzu side-steps me quickly and before I could redirect my movement, I slam face first into the stone. The impact jarred something inside and the anger is swept away. My mind clears.

"Frank Zhang, you must realize that your position as The One of War does not mean you fight battles. It means that you will stop them, keep your people safe and secure, away from the terror of war. There will be times when this side of you will be needed, when the Greco-Roman demigods will need and want their terrible and fierce General, but not always. You have proven your fighting ability to me, but not your ability to set aside anger and let the peace live. Because of this, I cannot let you have the ring."

I stand panting, head against the cool stone. The fury, the anger, had left me shaking and weak. The first wave beings I had fought had had no interest in peace, I knew that for sure. As soon as they saw me, they drew their weapons and attacked. But the second wave… they weren't armed, never fought back. They asked for peace, and I didn't listen. I barely gave them time to reach their weapons before I cut them down. "What have I done?"

The War Master turns me away from the wall. "You are a son of Mars. War is in your blood. As it was in mine. But it is not your duty to look for War, only to be ready when it comes."

"I failed." I say numbly.

"Sometimes, the only way to learn is through failure." Without another word, San Tzu sets the box in my hand and disintegrates into a pile of ash.

"Frank? Is that you?" Alana's voice rang out. I turn to see her only a few feet away. "Where have you been? " Worry colors her voice.

Blinking, I held out the box. "I got it Alana. I don't know how, but I did."

She seems shocked. "And it took you two days?"

"What?"

She approaches, gently laying a hand on my shoulder. "Frank, we came down here two days ago. You ran off, following the Bone Warrior. I waited for you, even after the boars disintegrated. Eventually I came back to the surface and got together a search party. We've been looking… " Her blue eyes water slightly.

"I'm sorry, I . . ." I choke on my words. How do I explain what happened, what I did? "I'm sorry." I repeat.

She sniffles a bit and took my hand. "Come on. We're getting out of here. I hate these damn tunnels."

Hours later, I sat back with the others in the Library. The others had practically attacked me when I came through Door. They yelled and wept, but were relieved that I was alright. Now though, they were asking what happened and I hesitated. Wondering. Would they still trust me? Still want me in the close knit group? Taking a deep breath and taking a risk, I tell them everything. Better for them to know who I am, then be blissfully unaware that I could hurt them one day. As soon as the last word left my mouth I stand and start to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Flinching I turn back to face Annabeth, her hands on her hips. "I thought…"

She stares me down."Don't you dare leave. What you did was terrible, but it wasn't your fault. It was the trial. How can we hold it against you?"

Jason steps up to be even with Annabeth. "How many times has that ferocity saved us? How many of us are still here because you have that within you? Like San Tzu said, it is needed sometimes."

I look at each of them in turn, "So I'm not being kicked out?"

Alana meets my eyes. "Never. We need you Frank. All of you. Even your anger."

Percy

Redwood National Forest California

A few days earlier…

Our arrival in the Redwoods went well enough. The woods were quiet, even though it was the middle of the day.

"Shouldn't this place be swarming with tourists, or something?" Hazel says.

I shrug. "It could be that whatever my Guardian is has closed the park, like how Leo's put the town to sleep." Then I feel it. A pull, a tug, like how the ocean calls to me but stronger. _Down_, I think. _My ring is down._ "Hazel, are there any tunnels nearby?" I say, breaking a small bit of conversation between siblings.

The Daughter of Pluto closes her eyes. I imagine she's stretching out her senses feeling the earth, feeling how it shifts and bends and sweeps, like I do the water. "No tunnels, but there is a cavern, deep below us, reinforced with metal, iron or steel perhaps?" She looks up, eyes questioning.

"That's where we need to go." I say.

The petite girl ushers us back and with a sweeping movement of her hands, a hole is created. She jumps down and waves at Nico and I to follow. Hazel makes a tunnel that is wide enough for us to walk single file and tall enough so we don't have to stoop. Every few steps Hazel moves her hands or feet, making the earth move. I stand directly behind her, letting the Ring's power pull me towards it. We spiral tightly down into the dark, our headlamps providing only enough light to see a few feet ahead. The two children of the Underworld seem at ease, almost comfortable. But even as the power of the Ring calls me forward, something else, something more primal is telling me to run.

"Percy? You okay?" Nico says behind me.

"Yeah. I'm good." I deflect. "We should be right on top of it Hazel."

She kneels and places a hand on the earth. "Yes we are. On top of the cavern. The drop isn't far. We should be fine jumping down." Nico and I step back and, with the same sweeping movement, Hazel opens a five foot hole into the cavern below.

Nico sets his pack down, removing a coil of rope. I help him tie it off and let it fall into the space below. Nico tests the knot, then fearlessly leaps down into the dark, his headlamp spinning in wide circles as he takes in the room. "It's clear."

I follow quickly, then Hazel. The room is massive, wider than several football fields. I walk a few paces away from the rope and my companions, unaware of them calling my name. "Something's wrong." I say, hearing the echo. "Can you two sense anything down here except us?" The brother and sister share a look of _What the hell is he talking about?_ but do as I ask. Almost instantly their brows furrow.

"Nothing," Hazel says, opening her eyes.

"Not even a trace that anything has ever been down here. It's completely abandoned." Nico adds. I can still feel the Ring's power, so teasingly close.

"Percy? What's going on?" Nico says, hesitatingly placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Not sure. The Ring is close though. That way." I point off into the gloom.

"Then we go that way." Hazel says resolutely, picking up her bag from where she had set it and marching off in that direction, leaving me and Nico scrambling to catch up with her.

After a few minutes, we come across a hallway of sorts, lined with chambers of different sizes. At my instruction, we peek into them one at a time, waiting for something, anything to appear.

"This is worse than that horror game Leo made us play. The one about the possessed robots? I keep expecting that crazy fox thing to jump out from nowhere." Hazel remarks.

Nico chuckles, but they receive only silence from me. Something is wrong, very very wrong.

_Percy._ "What was that?" I spin sharply, startling my companions.

_How could you?_ I spin again, my ears deaf to the shouts of concern.

_I trusted you. She died because of you!_ A scene appears before my eyes. Nico, younger, bright eyes filling with tears. The instant after I told him Bianca was dead.

_I hate you!_ He screams and the scene fades. I am left gasping for breath, emotion rushing over me. Regret, pain, devastation. I fall against the wall, noticing for the first time that Hazel and Nico have disappeared. I will have to face this alone, like the others did.

I only get this brief reprieve before another memory rushes over me. It too is filled with regret, with pain.

_You caused this_. Zoe Nightshade glares venomously at me from her deathbed.

_Why did you leave us?_ Mom, Paul. More and more, so many that my head spins. I can't make heads or tails of it any more. Pain, sorrow, regret.

_Your Fault! Your Fault! Your Fault! Your Fault! _The spectres screech. My fault, it was my fault. The voices still chanting in my head, I fall to my knees and scream. I scream until I have no breath. With the last whispers of air, a croak escapes me. "It's my fault."

Warmth.

_Come back to me, Seaweed Brain._ Annabeth.

_I forgive you, Percy._ Nico.

_We're just glad you're back._ Mom, Paul. A chorus of friends, family. Their hope, their faith in me. A voice, smooth and peaceful and unfamiliar, echoes.

_It's not your fault. Did you ask to be born a demigod? Or to be a Child of Prophecy? The Fates are tricky, but They are kind. They give you nothing you cannot handle, you meet no one whom you cannot befriend or defeat. Like it or not, Perseus Jackson, you are Chosen by Fate. You and the friends who wait for you, you are all Chosen for a great task. Alone you will fail, but that is why The Fates have brought you together._

I open my eyes, blinking. My cheek is pressed to the floor of the cavern, my body aches. The headlamp I wore is cracked and broken on the ground, but now the cavern is brighter, not by much, but enough to see. Easing myself up, I look around. That had to be my trial. Emotional breaking point, just like the others described. Did I pass? I stand, scanning the floor around me for a box, a glint of metal. Nothing. I failed. My hand comes up to rub my jaw. Something cool touches my chin. Sighing at my own stupidity, I pull my hand back from my face. A band of steel, carved with dancing waves, holds a perfect little trident.

"Percy!" A shout, feet against stone. Hazel hits the floor, no doubt scraping her knees, and wraps me in a hug.

"You made it!" Nico, a half step behind his half-sister, gives a sigh of relief. "You disappeared. Did you defeat the Trail?"

I chuckle, showing them the signet ring. "Only four more." I state.

Hazel leads the way back to the rope, fidgeting nervously. Nico and I try to calm her, but she makes no response. Once we have reached the surface once more, we make camp and riffle through our packs for provisions. Over the fire, Hazel seems distant.

"I read my passage before we left the Library." She says. It's the first time she's spoken since picking me up off the ground in the chamber below.

"Do you want to go after your ring?" Nico asks.

She nods. "I think we need to go to New Orleans." She notes our odd looks and repeats the six lines:

"The glyph lies in a grave full of hate  
In a city destroyed by Kate  
Masons built the tomb that hides the ring  
Find the stone that does Sing

Honor the dead to take what you need  
But beware if you take from greed."

She buries her head in her knees after that, refusing our every attempt to coax more information out of her. Nico and I eventually fall asleep, leaving Hazel to her own thoughts.

Hazel

New Orleans, Louisiana

Morning, Next Day

When the boys woke this morning, they soundlessly packed up the camp and put out the smouldering fire. A few times they glanced over their shoulders at me, worried, but said nothing. Nico extended his hand to me and I grasped it tightly, like he was my only anchor in a hurricane. Instants later, we stand in a manicured park, empty except for a few startled birds. Percy makes a face at the heat and humidity, obviously trying to make me laugh. But being back here has stolen all my joy. Even though the town has shifted and grown in the decades I've been gone, and faced Neptune's wrath to boot, it is too familiar, it hold so many memories. Sammy, my mother, those wretched schoolchildren. I can feel their presence here, weighing me down. _Just get it over with_, I tell myself and let the pull of power lead me.

We cross the streets, not yet clogged with traffic and tourists. I weave through old and new buildings, not daring to look for fear of seeing an old tormentor's ghost standing in a window or doorway. The ring pulls me continuously, never ceasing in its call to me. _Find me. I am yours. Your birthright. _The ring whispers gently in my mind, drawing me closer and closer. I stop only when I feel a hand on my shoulder. Looking up and around, I realize that Nico has stopped me, just before the iron gate of a cemetery. I would have slammed face first into the bars if not for him. I glance back at him sheepishly, and he smiles. For the first time since entering the city, I find a small measure of peace.

A short climb, jump and tumble later, the three of us are walking reverently though this city of the dead. We walk politely, staying on the paths and whisper quietly to one another.

"So we're looking for the grave of a Mason? Is that a first name or a last?" Percy says, reading some of the stones as we walk by.

"Or it could be mason, as in someone who laid brick and stone. One of the mausoleums, maybe?" Nico starts to drift towards one of the larger structures.

I shake my head at them both. "That's not it. 'The stone that does Sing', with a capital S. Like a name. And mason…. Like a Freemason. We're looking for a grave of a Singer, with the eye of the Freemasons." Following the pull of the ring, we arrive in the oldest part of the cemetery. Patiently and with as much respect as possible, we fan out and look for the grave.

Percy calls out after only a minute, whisper-shouting, "I think I found it!"

With quick steps, Nico and I join him at the grave of a Neil Singer, proud member of

the Freemasons. The pull of the ring is very strong here, this has to be it. Kneeling near the grave, I spread my senses into the earth, searching and reaching for my ring. _There. A passage. My ring is down there, but where is the opening? _I follow the path in the earth up to the surface. _Here, the grave. The stone is a door of some kind._

I must have said the last bit aloud because Nico kneels next to me to inspect the marker. Percy watches the area, for mortals and monsters. With a grinding sound that sets my bones on edge, the stone slides away to reveal the passage. I drop down first, then Percy and Nico. As soon as my brother passes through the opening, the stone slides back and seals us in. None of us panic, simply reach for our flashlights and head lamps. Once the way is properly lighted we continue on.

"Why is it that we always end up underground? Why can't the rings be somewhere nice

for once? Like a well lit beach house?" Percy's voice echoes gently and so does Nico's laughing reply. "What fun would that be?"

But as the echoes clear, I can tell something else heard them too. Nico stiffens and I know he feels it too.

He meets my eyes, "Run."

Our lights bounce and spin wildly, the only true heading we have now is the pull of my

ring. Creatures of darkness and bone, graveyard wraiths, leap out at us, shrieking loudly and obviously intent on killing us. Every time I cut one down, it reforms in minutes. _We can't beat them like this!_ Nico calls from behind me, yelling in Greek. Dark purple-black magic swirls around us, and the wraiths start to revert back into bones and graveyard soil.

"Whatever you're doing Nico, don't stop!" Percy cries out. But already my brother's face is pale and glistening with sweat. This power he's using is draining too much of his strength, he won't be able to keep it up for long. Whirling around in my head are those same haunting words that lead us here. _Honor the dead to take what you need, But beware if you take from greed._

"Honor the dead." A spark lights in my mind. _That's it! _"Drop your weapons. We have

disrespected the grave sites and must pay a price." I say, and drop my _spatha_. Nico's blade drops immediately, but Percy holds on to Riptide and is attacked again. The wraiths pull the blade from his hands and drive him to his knees. We are pushed towards him, also forced to kneel.

"Nico." I whisper, "We need to make amends. Any suggestions?"

He nods, "Food and prayer. And silence." He glares at Percy, who shrugs and grins sheepishly. With the undead eyes on us, we empty our packs of the rations we have left. _I really hope they like trail mix._ The food is set near the wraith's feet, then hands are folded in silent prayer. Nico mumbles what I assume are Greek death rites, Percy's eyes are squeezed tightly closed. After a final discrete glance to my friends, I bow my head and wait.

The feet of the wraiths shuffle against the stone, moving left to right. After a few more

minutes, there is a sound like breaking pottery. I glance up and find the last wraith is crumbling back to dust. I find my feet and spread out my senses once more, as the boys gather what remains of our food. _The ring is ahead, another three hundred yards, then right._ Checking behind me and catching two familiar faces, no more, no less, in the light from the head lamp, I start to move forward again.

In sober silence, three sets of feet continue down the tunnel. It widens and leads us into a

small room, just big enough for the three of us, and the Guardian of my ring. The Guardian stands, robed and cloaked, only a few steps away. "Hazel Levesque." It's voice is familiar, haunting and smooth. "I should have known it would be you." The hood is flicked back, revealing the appealing face of Death.

Nico steps in front of me. "Thanatos. You can't take her. I won't -"

The dark spirit holds up a hand. "Peace. I was not summoned to bring her back to the Underworld. Not this time. I have come to ascertain if she truly is the One of Wealth. Step forward Pluto's daughter and speak." The whole world falls away as, with a simple wave, a bright ring appears over Death's palm. It spins lazily, calling out to me. _Say the words and claim me. _

I open my mouth, ready to speak words I know to be true, when a deceptively cheery

ding echoes in the space. With a grimace Thanatos pulls out his tablet, his list of souls. "I thought I set this to silent… Oh." His eyes lift from the screen and look sadly on me. "It appears my earlier statement is no longer true." His hand closes around the ring, drawing an involuntary whimper from me. "Hazel Levesque is to return to the Underworld. She is not the One."

Nico's desperate cry and the ring of Riptide being drawn fall on deaf ears. Death will not

allow them to stop this. Fury rises in my stomach. _How dare he! _"I am the One of Wealth." I say, drawing Thanatos's attention. The walls of the chamber shake as I speak, gold and other buried valuables wiggling their way through the walls to fall at my feet. "I am the Reborn, the Rider of Arion, the Treasurer of the Greco-Romans. I am the Wielder of the Diamond Blade! I will not leave my people when they need me."

Thanatos smirks and presses the ring into my palm. "I pray you never will have to. This will not be the last time you see me Hazel. But the next time will be far in the future. Your life is your own." With a flash he is gone but the ring of brass remains. My Trial is over.

Annabeth

The Library

Same day

Rubbing my eyes, I translate another practice sentence out of Greco-Latin into English. _Jane ran through the field-_

"Alana! Iris Message!" Piper calls, tossing a coin through the mist. Turning in my seat, I greet Nico from through the rainbow. "Hey. Leo'll get the door open in a moment." Hearing his name, Leo jumps up and giddily starts working the controls to the Back Door.

Hazel comes into view. "We're not in the Redwoods anymore. We made a little side trip to New Orleans."

"What for?" Frank asks, obviously worried.

"My ring was here." She says simply. In the background I see the faint gold glow of the door opening and Leo waving at them.

"Come on in and tell us then!" He calls, voice echoing as we hear it twice. Percy drops the mist of water, breaking the connection, and the trio cross the doorframe. "So, what kind of trouble did you three get into?"


End file.
